At the Business Innovation Factory (BIF-5) Collaborative Innovation Summit in 2009, Roger Martin spoke of something that still resonates with me today, and something that I do not ever want to turn into. The Dean of the Rotman School of Management spoke of The Economist's wrath at business schools producing nothing other than "jargon spewing economic vandals," and at that moment, I was determined not to turn into one of those "jargon spewing economic vandals." The passion with which Roger Martin spoke of Rotman's approach to business education, and producing business leaders capable of handling not only the challenges of today, but also of tomorrow, inspired me to such an extent, that I could see no other academic future for myself, other than being an MBA student at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. So when Rotman said, "Congratulations!" it's safe to say that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone happier than me at that point in time, in fact, exactly 6 months ago to today.
Since that deliriously exhilarating moment, it's been a roller-coaster ride, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be an even crazier ride now that I'm finally in Toronto. Moving to a new place, meeting new people, starting a new program, living in colder climes (compared to Dubai, Toronto is going to be freezing!), it's all a big adventure. With congratulations and good wishes pouring in from family, friends & colleagues, I realized a Rotman MBA is going to be brutally amazing, and if I was going to survive two years of my MBA, I would need more than a desire to learn, an optimistic spirit, and 7 layers of clothing for the winter... I would need an adventurous spirit, I would need MBA... Must Bring Adventure!